Restructuring of Coca Cola beverages in Kenya is shaping up with the completion of acquiring franchises and sale of its head offices in UpperHill.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), which is set to be the biggest bottling business in the content, has announced a Sh19 billion deal with Centum Investment to acquire Almasi bottlers and Nairobi bottlers.
Last year Coca Cola announced a move of its regional offices to 90 James Gichuru building and has now placed its 116 square feet Grade A office for sale with Knight Frank limited.
The new office location will allow the Company achieves a new modernized space built to suit needs of more agile and even faster-paced business,” Coca Cola said.
In 2017 it bought Kisumu-based Equator Bottlers, the distributor for seven counties in western Kenya including Kakamega, Busia, Siaya, Vihiga, Bomet, Kericho and Kisumu.CCBA was formed in 2016 by Coke, SABMiller and Gutsche family, Coke’s South African bottling partner and was set to account for 40 percent of all Coke volumes sold in Africa, serving South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Ghana, Mayotte, and Comoros.
At the time SAB Miller sold 54.5 per cent stake to global beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev’s.Coca Cola Company agreed to a deal to buy AB InBev’s majority stake in the African bottling venture for Sh315 billion ($3.15 billion) in an agreement to transition AB InBev’s stake in CCBA to Coca-Cola.
That 2017 transaction made Coca-Cola the controlling shareowner of CCBA.Restructuring of the global fuzzy drinks business targeted strengthening its bottling system around the world so it can devote more time to its core concentrate business and marketing efforts.
Coca Cola still states it will re-franchise CCBA in the future but maintains in the short run, it is in the best interests of all involved for Coca-Cola to continue to hold and operate CCBA.
